The principles of multicarrier modulation are described for example in "Multicarrier Modulation For Data Transmission: An Idea Whose Time Has Come" by John A. C. Bingham, IEEE Communications Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 5, pages 5-14, May 1990. As is known, in a transmission system using multicarrier modulation, FDM (frequency division multiplexed) sub-carriers spaced within a usable frequency band of a transmission channel, forming a set of sub-carriers, are modulated at a block or symbol transmission rate of the system. The bits of input data for transmission within each block or symbol period are allocated to the sub-carriers in a manner which is dependent upon the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the sub-carriers, typically so that the bit error rates of the sub-carriers, as monitored at the receiver, are substantially equal. As a result, the different sub-carriers carry different numbers of bits in each symbol period. With an appropriate allocation of bits and transmit powers to the sub-carriers, such a system provides a desirable performance.
One particular form of multicarrier modulation, in which the modulation is effected using a discrete Fourier transform, is referred to as discrete multitone, or DMT, modulation. The related applications referred to above disclose details of multicarrier systems using DMT modulation.
As in any communication system, it is necessary to establish and maintain synchronization between the transmitter and receiver of a DMT or other multicarrier system. Frequency synchronization is conveniently provided in a DMT system by using one of the multiple tones as a pilot tone to control a phase locked loop at the receiver, as indicated in Standards Committee Contribution T1E1.4/93-022 by J. S. Chow et al. entitled "DMT Initialization: Parameters Needed For Specification In A Standard", Mar. 8, 1993. This reference also outlines other initialization processes of a DMT system, including the allocation of bits to sub-carriers or tones of the system.
In addition to this frequency synchronization, synchronization of the transmitted blocks or symbols of data is required. This is referred to herein as frame synchronization, each frame corresponding to one block or symbol of the multicarrier system, for consistency with the same term as used in single carrier transmission systems. It should be appreciated that each frame, block, or symbol can comprise a substantial amount of information, for example about 1700 bits (providing a transmission rate of about 6.8 Mb/s with a symbol period of about 250 .mu.s).
A single carrier transmission system, for example a QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) system, usually operates entirely in the time domain. In such a system, a relatively "random" frame synchronization sequence can be used to maintain frame synchronization, the sequence being inserted directly into the time-domain signal sample stream at the transmitter and being extracted and correlated with a stored copy of the sequence at the receiver. A large correlation result indicates that frame synchronization has been maintained, and a small correlation result indicates a loss of frame synchronization, i.e. that there has been a slip by an unknown number of time-domain samples. In the latter case the receiver instigates a search procedure to resynchronize the receiver, i.e. to re-align the frame boundaries at the receiver to those at the transmitter.
This time domain frame synchronization provides a simple yes or no answer to the question of whether the receiver is frame synchronized. To resynchronize the receiver when frame synchronization is lost, the system may be required to correlate and search through a large number of possible frame alignments. This is a time-consuming, and hence undesirable, procedure.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved method of providing frame synchronization in a transmission system using multicarrier modulation, and an improved transmission system which makes use of this method.